Snow City Cafe was a large place that had a line to get in every time we walked by. I overheard the greeter say they do take a few reservations and those folks were able to get seated promptly but if you don’t call ahead and get one expect to wait at least 45 minutes. They did have coffee urns and cups for you to use while you wait and a supply of toys to keep the kids occupied. They also had shelves and racks of named goods that you can purchase as a souvenir. There was a take out counter with some pre-packaged salads, sandwiches, etc. and a counter of baked goods. These were of particular note because when President Obama visited Anchorage in 2015, he went to the Snow City Cafe and purchased all the cinnamon buns they had in the counter. They did look delicious but I would have called them a pecan roll, so maybe this was something else.
After finally getting seated service was pleasant and efficient. They serve breakfast and lunch, closing at 3:00 on weekdays and 4:00 on weekends. It was bright and bustling but the tables were well spaced so noise wasn’t a problem. They did have a hot sauce bar in the middle of the dining room where you could pick your pleasure from a large collection of choices. One more note, they had 2 bathrooms and both are uni-sex so no line for one sex and not the other.
We tried the Deadliest Catch which was a sampling of their Kodiak Benedict (Alaska Red King Crab cakes and green onion) and Ship Creek Benedict (Snow City Salmon Cakes and diced red onion), both served with poached eggs, toasted English muffin and housemade hollandaise. The salmon cakes were way better than the crab, maybe because they were made in house and the crab cakes were made off site. Also the salmon cake was thicker. Both were very nice, but the salmon was just the better of the two (and you can get the plate with 2 of these for less than the price of the combo). They were served with a side order of hash browns which were nicely crisped on the outside and “potatoey” on the inside. The sauce was rich enough and the different onions provided a little crunch.
The Polar Bear breakfast was a pancake or regular French toast (as opposed to the stuffed), two eggs and a choice of meat/protein. I chose the regular French toast and bacon with over easy eggs. Real maple syrup was available for a $1 surcharge. The maple syrup was well worth that dollar. The French toast was not particularly creamy on the inside but nicely battered on the exterior. But slathered with butter and drenched in maple syrup it morphed into something really good. The bacon was thick honey-cured bacon that was very tasty and nicely cooked – not too crisp or wiggly. The perfectly cooked eggs melded into the sweetened toast to make it a wonderful plate of food.
